Golden
by X.x.HP.x.X.Forever
Summary: Callie is not very lucky. So as her bad luck would have it, after a horrible shift at her dead end job, she breaks down on a highway, while it is pouring rain, with no way to get home. But when she gets help from a stranger, she suddenly becomes involved in a world that she never thought possible. And she's not getting away from it. Seth/OC Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

Smallest parts of who you are

Are everything to me

From the way you laugh to the way you cry

To the way you love on me

Shadows run and darkness fades

When you come around

My single star amongst the gray

Always shining down

Golden - Lady Antebellum

"Hello my name is Callie and I will be your waitress tonight." Callie fought back a sneer, and forced a smile onto her lips, as yet another annoying couple had come into the restaurant, waiting to be seated, on the busiest and stupidest day of the year.

Yes, today was Valentine's Day, and Callie was busy working, at a job she hated, to one day, pay off her student loans. She was almost there, she had hoped, and soon she wouldn't have to work in this stupid place any longer. She could not wait for that day.

"Can we get out drinks now?" Another snotty girl, who was way too spoiled by her boyfriend, who was only trying to get laid, talked to her like she was the scum of the Earth.

"Right away." Another fake smile was forced onto her face, but it fell once she had turned around and was out of sight. If she had to endure one more bitch girl with way too much makeup on, she would lose her temper.

"Callie! Your food for table 14 is up!" A sigh left her lips, and with a deep breath, she grabbed the plates, the hot plates that were burning her hands and made her way over to the table.

"Here's your food. I hope you enjoy it." Callie waited for a thank you, even a small, one, but was only met with a wave of a hand.

'Deep breaths Callie...deep breaths'. She gave them a smile, as best as she could muster, then turned on her heel and walked to the back, where she was supposed to be getting drinks.

She was annoyed, for both having to work Valentine's Day, and for not having anything to do on Valentine's Day. She was single, she had been single for 19 years, neither having a boyfriend, or anything even close to a relationship with the opposite sex.

It wasn't that she didn't want a boyfriend, in fact she wanted a boyfriend very bad, but as fate and luck would have it, she wasn't the prettiest flower in the bouquet. She wasn't the thinnest either.

"Callie! Table 12 is waiting for their drinks." Callie looked over her shoulder and saw the bitchy girl, the one who was wearing too much makeup, glaring at her and tapping her imaginary watch on her wrist.

"I'll give her the damn drinks." Callie mumbled and grabbed two glasses and filled them up with coke, and then made her way back to the table, mumbling under her breath as she walked.

"There's your drinks." Callie had to compose herself when the girl looked at the glasses then shook her head.

"We wanted ice. And there is no ice." She watched as the glass was pushed back towards her, and felt her hand twitching, resisting the urge to dump it on her head.

"I'll fix that for you." She grabbed the glasses, and once again, made her way to the back and dumped out the coke, then refilling it with ice and new coke.

"Callie..." Her eyes flew open and she turned and faced the voice, eyes seething and temper flaring to the point of exploding.

"What?" Her voice was clipped and tense, after dealing with both love sick couples, and guys that brought girls here only for a chance to get laid.

"After you're done serving the two tables you have now, you can go home." Callie felt relief flood through her veins at the thought of having the worst day ever being over.

She could not wait to get home, just for the sake of getting home, even though she wasn't going to be doing anything. She just wanted to get away from all of the love-sick couples. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Thanks." She nodded and grabbed the drinks and took them back to their rightful table, and was glad that there were no more complaints, so far, from the witch.

"Food's here!" Callie's eyes brightened and she practically ran to the kitchens, grabbed the plates and ran back. She would only have to be here for a few more minutes, having someone else take over after the food was taken, and smiled, genuinely, for the first time that night.

"Alright Callie. You can go home." She sighed and walked, again, to the kitchens, and handed in her apron, pen and pad of paper, signalling that she was done, completely done and about to leave.

"Hey be careful when you're driving. It's raining and the roads are slick." Callie felt herself scoff as she pulled on her jacket.

"It's Forks. Since when doesn't it rain?" Callie asked an open question, but didn't wait for a reply, instead, she walked outside, and started to feel the cold, wet rain on her skin and hair.

She didn't bother putting her hood up, or even running to her car, she was just going home and she had no one to impress. Being single and unattractive to the opposite sex did that for you, it made you just not care.

"Please work tonight. I don't need a repeat of the terrifying night last night." Callie spoke to her car, half gentle and half threatening, before she climbed into the drivers seat, finally getting tired of the constant downpour of rain.

"Please..." She asked and stuck the key in the ignition and waited for a few moments before she turned it on and heard the roar of the engine. Another wave of relief, and a few deep breaths before she pulled out of the parking lot and started driving out of town.

She hadn't actually lived in Forks, but on the outskirts, in a small house, left to her by her uncle, who she had never met. She wasn't going to complain, she didn't have to pay mortgage, she only had to pay for the necessities like power, water, heat.

"Thank you for working tonight you old beast." Callie pat the dash lightly, before she made a turn and found herself on the highway that would take her to her tiny house.

But she soon realized that she had talked too soon as her vehicle started to slow down. With a fairly quick reaction, Callie pulled her vehicle onto the shoulder of the road and checked her dash for any signs of an empty gas tank.

When she didn't find one, she sighed and smacked her head on her steering wheel. She had put gas in, she had just put a full tank in, and her car still stopped running which could mean only one thing: her car had officially died.

"Great. That's just great. It is pouring rain outside, I have a dead car, and I am in between two tiny towns, with nothing but no man's land in between." Callie smacked her hand on her steering wheel, and reluctantly, popped the hood.

With a great sigh, she got out and made her way to the front of the car and lifted the hood up. She was absolutely horrible with cars, having neither luck nor knowledge, when it came to dealing with them. But she figured that if she fooled around with something, anything, that it could possibly start again.

"Alright. If I was some part in a car and I decided to stop working, which one would I be?" She asked herself and leaned in, while she was getting soaked by the rain, and looked at all of the parts in the car. The only thing she recognized was the battery, and that was because she had just gotten a new one.

"I know it's not the battery." She frowned and continued looking, but gave up quickly, and turned around and sunk to the ground, hopeless, annoyed and seemingly ready to get eaten alive by animals.

"Excuse me! Do you need some help?" Callie looked up, surprised and on edge, not sure whether this was some psycho talking to her, only to kill her later, or someone who genuinely wanted to help.

"What?" Those were the first words that left Callie's mouth and she internally kicked herself for not saying something more suiting.

"Do you need help? Your car's clearly broken down and I wanted to know if you needed help." Callie thought about it for a second, pondering whether it would be better to be killed by a psycho, or to be eaten alive.

"Yes I do need help. My car hates me and I'm tired and I want to go home. Oh and I seem to be mildly wet." Callie stood up, and watched as the mystery man walked over, laughing at her sarcasm about being soaked by the rain, and leaned over to inspect the car.

"There's nothing you can do about it tonight. It needs to get looked at and fixed by a mechanic." Callie groaned out loud and felt her temple starting to throb, feeling like today was the worst day she could ever have.

"I know someone who owns a garage. I'll give him a call and ask him to come and pick it up tomorrow. In the mean time, can I give you a ride somewhere? You know so you don't get pneumonia?" Callie stared at him, noting that he could most definitely kill her easily.

He towered over her short 5'3" frame, and he had muscles seemingly bulging from every part of his body. He could easily strangle her with his huge hands, or hit her in the head and knock her out, then go and cut her up into bite size pieces.

"it's much better than walking to wherever you're going." Callie weighed her options, for only a few seconds before she decided to trust the mysterious stranger.

"Fine." She walked to her car, and opened her very old, very squeaky door and grabbed all of her things, and slammed the door shut. She followed the stranger to his car, and compared him and his car to a clown car.

"So where do you live?' Callie was asked when she had gotten in, turned on the heat without his permission and had buckled up.

Again, the worst situations possible ran through her head, all of them violent and ended up with her dying. But with a quick shove to the mental recycling bin of her mind, she muttered out the directions.

"Alright." The man started driving, turning on the radio to some local station that Callie never listened to, and let there be an awkward silence between them.

"This is is." She didn't wait for the car to fully stop before she grabbed all of her crap, unbuckled and left the awkward silence in the car.

"Thanks for driving me here." She tried to sound as un-skeptical as she could, but she could hear it seeping though her voice.

"It was no problem. I'm Jared by the way." She saw him grin at her, and then he stopped, as if he was listening close to something, before he started speaking again.

"I'll drop by and let you know what's happening with your car." Callie managed to get a nod out, while she was taking slow steps backward, and when Jared had finally driven off, she ran into her house and locked the door.

"He is going to come back and kill me, cut me into bite size pieces and then eat me."

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the universe. I do not own Jared, or any of the characters, going to be mentioned. I only own Callie.


	2. Chapter 2

Then you walked up

I tried to hide behind my cup

When you said, how you've been doing,

I gave you the typical line

I've been fine

Nothin' Like The First Time - Lady Antebellum

Callie was woken up, and was mildly shocked to see herself, and feel, completely in tact without a scratch, bruise or drawn blood. She was sure that Jared, the man that helped her last night, would come back for her and make her his midnight snack.

But when she analyzed herself, in the bed and in the mirror, she was clearly proven wrong. He wasn't a cannibal, but he was still tall, big and he looked like he could snap her in two without lifting much more than a finger.

"At least he stopped to help me. He could've just left me there to get eaten or die from hypothermia. Which ever came first. My bet is on hypothermia." Callie muttered and threw on a pair of sweats and a worn out sweater, and made her way out of her room to the small kitchen.

The house she had inherited, while it was old and a bit run-down, it had a certain charm to it, despite it being only one floor. She, never really had, any ambition to leave the small, rainy town, despite what others her age were doing.

She had grown accustomed to the rainy, damp, dreary small town that was Forks, and she really hadn't made plans to move. She knew that if she would move, to a dryer, warmer place, she would soon miss the cold.

"I can never truly be happy can I?" Callie talked to herself, it was one of the ways she passed time, she was not crazy or ever had been, but being in school and paying student loans, had left her very crunched for money.

She tried to keep the power, heat and water bills to a minimum, the key word trying, so she could make her payments on her student loans, her car payments and insurance. Then on tp of that, she had to buy food and the necessities, and once she had those, her bank account was almost empty.

"I should get a cat. It might help me sound less crazy." Callie shrugged to herself and began walking around the kitchen, grabbing the toaster from the cupboard, and ate her menial breakfast of toast and jam.

"I should go grocery shopping soon." She stood up and reached for her keys on the table, before she scowled and remembered her devil car. The one that had to breakdown on the highway, in the pouring rain and the cold.

"Dammit." She sat back down, reaching for the second piece of toast, when she heard a heavy, pounding at her door. She put the toast down, and creeped out of the kitchen and down the hall, grabbing a fire poker as she went, and made herself ready for an intruder.

Not many people came to her house, if anyone, so someone pounding on the door was not only strange, but it made her be on edge. If they wanted to come in here, to her house, and rob her, they were going to have to get passed her and her fire poker weapon.

Slowly, Callie reached out and turned the doorknob with one hand, and gripped the fire poker in the other, ready to swing at the intruder. But once she actually opened the door, she saw the tall man, Jared, staring down at her, with a look of confusion.

"A fire iron? Really? That's what you defend yourself with? A piece of blackened metallic?" Callie looked at Jared and then down at her weapon, wondering whether she should hit him with it anyway, just because he scared her.

"Yes. I defended myself with a fire iron. I wasn't going to let someone come in and rob me." Callie explained while setting the fire iron by the door, just in case and looked back at Jared.

He was wearing mechanic's clothing, covered in what she could guess was oil and grease, but she couldn't tell, and hoped he had brung good news about her car. She couldn't afford to get a new one, and she couldn't afford to not have a vehicle. That was her only way to both school, and work.

Work. As much as she hated her job, she absolutely loathed it and couldn't wait until she was finally done school and could get a job based off of her schooling. But until the day she graduated, she would be serving unappreciative people, working for minimum wage and tips.

"I'm here to take you to the garage where your car is being kept." Callie's eyebrows furrowed at the words 'being kept'. She did not like those words, those words meant she might not be getting her car back soon. Those words were not good words.

"What do you mean?" Callie spoke without thinking again, something she did often, but she brushed it off, and focused on Jared and the words he was speaking to her.

"Just get in the car and I'll explain when we get there." Callie reached out for the fire iron, wanting to take it with her, just in case he did try something, but when she saw him looking at her from the corner of his eye, she dropped it.

"Fine. It's not like I don't have anything better to do today." She muttered and locked up her house, and followed Jared and proceeded to get into his clown car.

She still didn't know how his tall, bulky frame fit into the small car. She had no troubles fitting into the car, she was short, and while she wasn't exactly thin, she still had plenty of room.

"Are you going to get stuck?" She asked, very interested if he was going to be able to get out after getting in. She didn't want to have to try and pull him out of the clown car, if she even could. He was s much bigger than her and she thought he weighed more too.

"No." Callie got a brisk answer and watched as her home, her comfort and her defence weapon were slowly getting smaller and smaller, the further the car went.

"Forks is the other way." She blankly pointed out, only knowing of garages that were in Forks, and thoughts once again, came back of him killing her. Her hand instinctively went to the door handle, just in case he had whipped out a weapon.

'I should've brough my fire iron.' She thought as she saw thick and dense forests being passed and wondered if she did have to run into them, if anyone would find her.

"We're not going to Forks. We're going to La Push. That's where the garage is." Callie made an 'oh' face and looked out the window, once again.

She had never really been to La Push, and she didn't have a reason to go there. She didn't know anyone from La Push, and she had no relatives that lived there. All of her friends, who had all left Forks the day they graduated, had never been there either.

"You've never been there have you?" Callie shook her head no, tore her eyes from the window and looked at Jared, really looked at him. He had short, dark brown or maybe it was black, hair that seemed to be a bit too short for him.

He was built like a gladiator, tall and bulky, and even though he hadn't done anything to emit threatening vibes, Callie was very scared of him. She tried not to show her fear, she didn't want him to know she feared him, even though she was sure he could tell.

"This is it." Callie looked out the windshield and saw a fair sized building with cars being worked on, but she could not spot hers. She cautiously got out and looked in for her car, but she couldn't see it.

"Where is it?" She asked Jared, making her way inside the building all the while, preparing to whip out her all too short nails to fight for answers.

"Seth is putting it back together outside." Callie nodded, not fully understanding what he said at first, but after a moment, it had fully sunk in.

"Putting it **back** together?" She turned to face Jared, but he was walking back into the garage part, and she saw him talking to someone who was even larger, even bulkier than she was.

She watched him converse with the giant, before he walked out of the garage completely. Callie felt herself losing her patience, getting both annoyed and frustrated at Jared. She wanted to know what he meant by putting it **back** together. What the hell was wrong with her car?

'Deep breaths Callie, deep breaths. It will be fine.' She tried to tell herself, but she found that she wasn't believing her own lies. She couldn't believe her car had to be put back together. She just needed it to run, it didn't even have to run good, it just had to run.

Finally, after what seemed like ages and eons, Jared came walking back with someone who, was thankfully not as big as him, and felt relief. Maybe she would get some answers.

"Callie, this is Seth. He's the one that was and is fixing your car." Callie looked at him impatiently, and frowned.

He was staring at her, really staring at her, like she was a goddess. It was freaking her out to be honest, and she just wanted to get her car and get out of here. First it was Jared, who had scared her last night and today, and now it was Seth. The one that had a staring problem.

'There's something in the water here. The people here are crazier than I feel.'

Disclaimer: I only own Callie, I don't own Jared or Seth, or any other characters or even the world of Twilight.

Thanks to the reviewer:

Winter Stevenson: I hope you continue to read the story and if you have any pointers or tips, I would appreciate them. :)

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	3. Chapter 3

When I first laid eyes on you

Well, the night just felt so odd

You looked at me and the stars lined up

So I thought I'd heard from God

And I gave him my best shot

Lasso - The Band Perry

Callie stared at Seth, feeling a little creeped out, to be honest, and just wanted him to stop staring at her. She was starting to feel exposed and she didn't like that; being exposed to someone she just met felt unnatural to her.

"So...where and what happened to my car?" Callie spoke after a few minutes of very, uncomfortable and unnerving, silence, hoping that she would get a good answer. One that wouldn't leave her scraping the bottom of her money barrel. Not that she even had a lot of money there, but the little that she did have after her bills, she liked to save for the little shopping she did.

"Seth...take her to her car." Callie looked at Jared, and then back at Seth, and waited for him to move, breathe or even say something, but he just kept staring at her. Finally, after a few more minutes, he seemed to snap out of his daze, and Callie saw a smile, a boyish smile, grace his face.

"Your car. Right. Follow me." Callie nodded and started making her way through the shop, trying to ignore the looks she was getting from the mechanics there. She knew, and felt, that they weren't staring because they found her physically appealing, but more in shock that she was coming through the shop.

"What was wrong with it?" Callie asked and was unprepared for the sudden stop of Seth, the tall, lankier version of Jared, and almost fell back if it weren't for pushing her weight on her toes.

"There's a lot wrong with your car. I can't believe it still runs. You shouldn't be driving it." Callie's eyes narrowed and she looked at Seth with an incredulous look, pushing against his look of concern.

"It's my only car and I don't have money for a new one. Do you think I want to drive that hunk or rusted tin?" Callie crossed her arms over her chest and felt annoyance rising in her.

She didn't know who he thought he was, and she partially didn't care, but she knew that he had no right to to try and tell her what she could and could not drive. If she had another option, enough money to buy a decent vehicle, then it would be a different story.

"I'm sorry." Callie saw a look pass over his eyes, worry and almost regret at what he said, before it was replaced by a happy look.

Callie was definitely confused by the boy, or rather man, standing in front of her, still staring and still smiling. She had never really seen anyone, anyone at all, that was so tall, so muscular and so tan. Not only that, but Jared and Seth had looked alike, there were some differences, but overall they had the same type of look.

"Where's my car?" Callie spoke abruptly, forcing her mind away from Seth and Jared, and the many reasons why they confused her, and instead focused on why she was actually here. The devil car that had been broken.

"it's out back." Callie watched Seth for a minute, waiting for him to start walking out of the shop, but he still continued to smile and stare at her.

"Well..can I see it?" She was starting to get real annoyed by his constant staring, the fact that her car was broken, and she might not have the money to pay for the repairs.

"Oh. Yeah." Callie let out a sigh when Seth finally led her out back, and then her eyes almost bulged out of her head.

Her car before it had been brought in, was rusted and worse for wear, but it was in one piece. There were obvious things wrong with it, for instance the back doors couldn't be opened or else they wouldn't shut right. Only one window liked to roll down, she didn't have power windows, and the passenger's seat belt didn't quite latch right.

But all of those things still made a whole car, and sitting in front of her, right now, was not a whole car, but parts of one. The frame was still together, surprisingly, but the wheels, rims, doors, windows, seats, almost everything else was taken off and strewn across the yard.

Callie felt her eyes twitching, and had to count to ten in her head, or else she would've given him a damn big mouthful. She didn't think, not that she really knew, her car was in a bad enough state to get ripped apart and the insides strewn around like confetti.

"Spark knock is what caused your car to stop working. It is also called detonation. Basically, excess heat builds within the combustion chamber and forces an abnormal ignition of the compressed air-fuel mixture." Callie was listening to what he was saying, but she was not really understanding what he was saying.

She was staring at her car, almost wishfull and hopefully believing that it would just rebuild itself and run better than ever. But she knew it wouldn't, and that made her blood boil, not only at Seth for tearing it apart, but at herself. She felt like she was to blame and that she could've prevented this somehow.

"I'll have it back together in the next few days and it will be running much better than it has been." Something snapped in Callie and her head flew in the direction of Seth, and she stared at him, really stared at him, in anger.

"The next few days? The next few days?! I can't wait a few days! I need my care put back together tonight! I need it to get to work, to school and to and from my house and the best you can promise is the next few days?!" Callie seethed, and if she was someone else that was watching, she was sure there would be steam coming out of her ears.

"That's the soonest I can get all the parts I need..." Callie heard him speak softly, but her anger and her annoyance had reached a max, it's breaking point and she was about to snap.

Not just because of this situation, but because of her dead end job, her overwhelming student loans that were only half paid off, and her loneliness, not just from not being in a relationship, but from all her friends leaving Forks and her staying.

"And what am I supposed to do about my job? My school? Am I supposed to hitchhike everywhere? Or how about I just not go to school or work? I could fail because I can't get there and get fired because I haven't been showing up." Callie spat out at Seth, finding that she couldn't stop her ranting once she had started, everything she kept close to her chest falling out in front of the man that couldn't stop staring at her.

"No..." She heard him answer weakly, but she ignored him when she saw Jared walking towards them, with a half assed smile on his face. She glared at him as he neared, feeling like she was about to lash out and start yelling at him too.

"Seth, Sam needs you inside. I'm going to give Callie a ride home." Callie rolled her eyes at the thought of Jared driving, and wanted nothing more than her heap of metal with 4 wheels back.

"But..." She heard Seth hesitate, and Callie, looked at them from the corner of her eyes, and it looked like Seth and Jared were communicating with their eyes.

'Why is it that all the men here are so strange?' She asked herself, mentally, before shifting her weight to her other foot, feeling a bit annoyed that they were so blatantly ignoring her.

"I'll go talk to Sam. Callie, Jared will drive you home." Once again, she felt irritated that he was telling her what to do, but when she saw the look of urgency on her face, she could tell that something was really wrong.

"Let's go Callie." She was getting dragged behind Jared, his steps were much larger than hers, and so she felt like she was tripping over her own feet and the scattered parts of her car.

"Jared!" Callie yelled at him, to try and get him to stop, but he didn't. Instead he walked faster, and when they had gotten to his car, he opened the door and pushed her in.

Callie stared at him, thinking him mental, as she properly sat down and buckled up. She was not sure what had gotten into him, Seth she thought was a crazy with a staring problem, but Jared left her clueless.

"Ready to go?" Jared didn't wait for an answer before he ripped out of the parking lot, making Callie's heart almost jump out of her chest at the speed, before ripping down the highway at almost double the legal limit.

'He is going to kill me. We are going to crash and die in a fiery death.' Callie gripped the handle attached to the car roof, she assumed that was to hold on while driving dangerously, and even if it wasn't, she was using it to hold on to for her dear life.

"You are a horrible driver." Callie looked at Jared for a reaction, but instead, he just kept driving and ignored her. But when she looked at him, she saw that his muscles were tense, and he had an expression on his face; loathing and anger.

Disclaimer: I only own Callie, no one else.

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	4. Chapter 4

So if the ties that bind ever do come loose

Tie 'em in a knot like a hangman's noose

Cause I'll go to heaven or I'll go to hell

Before I'll see you with someone else

Better Dig Two - The Band Perry

Callie had no idea what she how she was going to get to school, work and back again. She could take a cab, but the cab would cost her more than the gas to fill up her clunker, and even if she decided to take a cab, she wouldn't be able to afford it. She needed the extra money to pay her, torn apart and sad looking, clunker. She didn't have extra money to just throw around anyway.

So needless to say, she was more than surprised, when she walked out of her small room, and saw a tall, muscular looking Jared and Seth, standing in her front living room. Slowly, and trying not to draw their attention too much, she reached over for her fire iron, only to remember that she had left it by the front door.

"Oh good you're up. I was wondering if I would have to drag you out by your feet." Callie scowled at Jared, and made her way to her kitchen, ignoring the looks Seth was shooting her. They weren't as strange and odd as the ones before, but they still unsettled her and made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" She heard footsteps behind her, and while she was eating her toast, saw her fridge being opened and closed.

"I'm eating. What does it look like?" A quick towards Seth, rewarded her with the amusing sight of Seth shooting daggers at Jared, who was stuffing his face.

"That is not for you." She reached out to take the food back, only to have a hand pushing her arm away. A sigh left her lips, and she turned around and went back to her toast, eating that before Jared had a chance to steal it.

"How'd you get in here anyway?" Callie was curious, as she was sure that she had locked the door after her return, and all of the windows were shut. At least she had hoped she had locked the door, she didn't want some maniac coming into her house in the middle of the night.

"Back door. You really should get a lock for that." Callie peered out of the kitchen and grumbled, completely forgetting about the back door that she had never used. It wasn't like she had a reason to use it, she had no dog to let out in the backyard, and she only really ever went to school and work.

"Anyway are you ready to go?" Callie's head snapped in the direction of Jared, and gave him a look. She wasn't going anywhere, she couldn't go anywhere without a car, unless they were driving her, which she would rather walk. Jared was a terrible driver, he sped, didn't use his signal lights and never did a shoulder check.

'Dear god, I sound like a parent.' Callie made a face at her thoughts, and turned her attention to Jared and Seth.

"Where are we going and why are you here?" She had hoped, prayed even, that if they were here to give her a ride, that she would be able to drive. She didn't want to die at the age of 19 due to some giant behind the wheel of his clown car.

"To drive you to school and then Seth and I are going to school. Unless you condone skipping, and in that case we'll bug you at your house all day. Do you have anymore chicken? That was good." Callie clenched her fists and counted to ten in her head, feeling a headache coming on. She knew that Jared was being serious, he would stay here and eat all of her food, then annoy her all day.

"I'll go get dressed." Callie spoke in a pressed manner before she turned on her heel and made her way back to her room. With a loud slam of the door, she started grabbing clothes and throwing them on, all while muttering about Jared and his annoyances.

"Callie? Jared said we have to go. It's already 7:30." She half expected Jared to be standing on the other side of her door, trying to get her to hurry up. But when she heard Seth's voice instead, she stopped what she was doing and a scowl placed itself on her face.

It wasn't that she hated Seth, because she didn't, she just found him a little annoying a tad bit creepy. She had never been stared at so much by one person, and it seemed that all he did was stare at her and follow her with his eyes. It almost made her feel like she was a piece of meat he was analyzing to make sure it would taste good.

"Callie! Don't force me to send Seth in there and carry you!" Callie froze in her spot and looked around her room, having items of clothing, including underwear, strewn all around her room. The thought of Seth, who already had staring problems, coming into her room and seeing her undergarments, made her feel more unsettled.

"I'm coming out!" Callie grabbed her work clothes and shoved them in her backpack and ran out, almost colliding with Seth, who she saw trying to take a peek in her room. She made a noise and quickly slammed the door in his face, narrowly missing his nose.

"There are private things in there." She hissed, and while she felt her face heating up, she ignored it and ran out to the living room, and saw Jared with a couple pieces of toast in his hand.

"How much can you eat? You just had a big piece of chicken and now you're eating my bread?" Callie saw him shrug before he reached down and grabbed her bag, and made a motion for him to leave the house.

She rolled her eyes and walked past him, pointing the fire iron into his chest as a warning. She hadn't forgotten about the fire iron, and should he do anything stupid or reckless, she would use it on him.

"Yes I know. The fire iron. But can you please get into the car so we won't be later than we already are?" Callie reluctantly nodded and sunk into the back seat of the car, finding her legs getting squished by how far back the seats were. She didn't know what possessed him to get a car this small, when clearly, if the seats were almost all the way back, it was too small.

"So where are you going? Peninsula College?" Callie nodded and tried not to laugh at the two giants, squished to the max, in the front seats. She had to angle her body to get enough room, but she didn't know how they did it. Even with the seats pushed back, digging into her legs, they're knees were up to the dash, and their bodies were very close to touching each other.

"What class are you taking?" The question came from Seth, and somehow despite being squished, still turned his head to look at her. She still saw the look that creeped her out, but aside from that, there was a look of interest in his eyes, almost as if he really wanted to know.

"I'm not taking a class. I'm in a course. And I'm in a course to become a licensed nurse." Callie spoke in a clipped tone, and almost felt bad when his face fell, but almost instantly, the same happy look was on his face.

'It really pisses me off that someone can be that happy. I mean I'm happy but even I don't smile that much. Whenever I see the kid he's always smiling.' Callie grumbled, not sure if she was grumpy because she hated mornings, or whether she was grumpy because Jared showed up, ate her food and then practically pushed her out the door.

"That's really interesting. What made you want to take nursing?" Callie's eyes narrowed and she looked at Jared, wondering if he had put Seth up to all the questions.

'A way to annoy me without doing it himself.' Callie stared at the back of Jared's head, waiting for him to say something, but he was silent.

"My mom was a nurse and my grandmother was a nurse and so was my great-grandmother." Callie explained slowly, going back and forth from watching Jared, and looking at Seth. She really was puzzled by these two boys, that looked like men.

She had only had a few friends that were guys, and she had known them for a while before she started talking to them and becoming friends. She had gotten to know them before revealing anything personal to them. But Jared and Seth, not just physically, were different, they were getting personal things out of her. It made her feel awkward and exposed, and she hated that feeling.

"So it's a generational thing?" Callie ignored the question and stared out of the windshield, seeing the school, her now saving grace, just around the corner.

"Jared stop the car!" She felt the car lurching to a stop and grabbed her bags, all while getting glares from Jared.

"What the hell? Why'd you want me to stop so suddenly?" Callie looked at him like he was an idiot, before unlocking the door and pushing it open from the backseat. She wanted to get out of this car now, go to school and forget about this whole awkward, car ride.

"There's the school. I'm going to go. Bye." Callie spoke quickly and rushed, as she pushed against Seth's shoulder, willing him to get out of the car. She was surprised when he actually got out, and once she had climbed out of the backseat, almost falling on her face in the process, she turned and gave him a smile small. She stood on the concrete, and adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and went to walk away, when she felt a large, hot hand on her wrist.

"We'll pick you up after okay?" Callie looked up at Seth and felt annoyed, and again creeped out, by the intense staring he was doing.

"No. I'm walking to work." She took a step back and pulled her wrist out of his hand and started walking towards the school, trying her damnedest to ignore the following of his eyes on her back.

'What a hot temperature. No wonder he's so weird, he's sick with the flu.' Callie thought, as she placed her hand on top of her wrist, cooling the flesh that he had heated up with his skin.

'He is definitely sick. No one can have such a hot temperature without being sick.'

Disclaimer: I only own Callie and no one else.

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	5. Chapter 5

You could never be more in love with me

I saw it in your eyes on that winter night

But I never, never, never felt so cold

You hid your heart

What I don't know can't keep me warm

Once Upon A Time - The Band Perry

Callie, plain and simple, absolutely loathed her job, and she found that even though she depended on tips, did everything half-assed. She simply didn't care too much anymore, as was counting down the days, hours and minutes, until she was done school and could get an actual job. One that wouldn't require her to pull her shirt down and her skirt up, just to be hit on by creepy men, for menial tips.

"Hi my name is Callie. I'll be your waitress tonight. What can I get you to drink?" Callie inwardly groaned, when she saw the bitchy girl from Valentine's Day, and her annoying boyfriend.

"Oh. It's you. Again. I'll have something that has no sugar." Callie felt the need to roll her eyes, but stopped herself knowing that she had to at least try and make a good impression for them.

"Alright. Water it is." Callie wrote down her drink, ignoring her glare, and turned to her boyfriend, who was making it very obvious that he was staring at her chest.

"And for you?" Callie looked at the boyfriend and tried not to let it show how awkward she felt under his gaze.

"I'll get a coke. With ice." Callie nodded and turned on her heel, making her away from the table as fast as she could. She wasn't used to male attention, and any attention that she did get was directed towards her chest.

"How are you today Callie?" She looked up from getting the drinks, and saw the cook giving her a smile. She gave a brief smile, before her picked up the drinks and and was so very tempted to spit in their drinks.

"Don't even think about it Cal, you know what would happen if you were caught." Callie did know, and she wasn't quite willing to risk getting fired. She couldn't afford to get fired, not until she was graduated and had a nursing job.

"You're right." She sighed and walked back over to the table, drinks in hand, and had barely set them down when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

With one quick look over her shoulder, she saw her general manager standing behind her, with a serious look on his face. Callie felt her face redden, knowing that he only talked to the waitresses when there was a serious complaint. And that almost always ended in them getting fired.

"Callie come with me to the back. We need to talk." Callie turned back to the two people at the table, and was a little stunned when she saw a smirk on the girl's face.

'She had something to do with this?' She frowned and her hand twitched and it took all she could, not to reach out and deck her.

The bitch sitting there didn't know what it was like, to be broke and living on barely one hundred dollars each cheque. She had no idea what it was like to have to pay for things herself and to try and support herself while she was going to school.

She had no idea what it was like, to feel frustrated and irritated when she looked at her bank account and saw it dwindle and never really grow. It pissed her off when she saw people like her, and her scum of a boyfriend, look down on her. She was trying to survive on their own, and she didn't need people tearing her down, she needed people to support her.

"Now Callie." She took a deep breath and followed her general manager to the back, finding people staring at her as she walked. Not only from the customers and the waitresses, but also the cooks.

She didn't blame them, she would've stared too if she weren't the one being talked to. It's not exactly a good thing when you go to the back office, not even halfway through a shift, and what was about to happen wasn't necessarily a secret.

"Callie...listen...I know that you need this job and that you need the money, but there have been certain...complaints..that I can't look over anymore." Callie tried not to get nervous, but as her breathing rate picked up and her heart beat wildly, she knew that she would not be coming back after this.

"I don't understand." She decided to play dumb to try and get the info on who made the complaint and why. She didn't exactly make it a secret that she hated her job and that she hate serving people, but at least she tried to put a smile on her face while in the view of the customers.

"There have been more than a few complaints about you and your service. They have said that you have been short tempered, you've been grumpy when serving them, and even one person said that you had spit in their food." Callie didn't know what to say as she heard the rumors, the lies, that were being told about her.

"I didn't do a thing!" She got defensive, figuring that playing dumb had only gotten her so far, now, she need to defend herself and her job. She would fight for it, and despite what the complaints were, she didn't do a thing.

"Callie please...I know you need this job, but I'm sorry. Whether the complaints were true or not, I cannot let you work here anymore." Callie felt a wave of anger surge through her, and it started to build, up to the point that she almost couldn't contain it.

"You'll get your final cheque in the mail, and any tips that you would've gotten will be added as well." She knew that this was the end of her job here, but she wasn't finished yet.

With quick movements, she tore off her apron and her name tag, and left them on the desk. She didn't say anything as she left the back and made her way to the front, eyes narrowing in on the bitch, who was giving her a very satisfied look.

'It's time she got what she deserved.' Callie knew that this wasn't the way to end things, but she didn't care. She was beyond pissed, at her general manager and the girl with the smug look.

"Got fired?" Callie's eyes flashed with anger and in one quick motion, she picked up her glass of water and threw it in her face.

Satisfaction, was the next emotion to wash over her, as she saw the bitch sputter water out of her mouth. Her hair was wet and soggy looking, but what really made her feel good, was the way her make-up was dripping off of her face.

"Enjoy your meal, bitch." Callie smirked and walked out of the restaurant, customers and staff alike gaping at her, not that she cared too much.

Once she was actually outside of the restaurant, a shuddery breath left her body, and she felt weak and light-headed. While she had loved every minute of throwing the water in the girl's face, realization quickly set in. She had no job, no way of income, no car, no way to pay for said car, and still 3 months until she was done school for good.

"Well I think I screwed myself." She sighed and started walking down the street, away from her ex-job, before she sat down on a bench, and put her head in her hand. She had to call a cab, and the cab fare would definitely leave her way too close to the 'insufficient funds' of her she had to do what she had to do, and Callie needed a way home.

She pulled out her old, but still functional cellphone, dialed a cab company's number, and waited for said cab to arrive. She hoped that the cab driver would take pity of her, not that they would, and charge her less, but she wasn't lucky, and when you're not lucky, you get screwed.

"You needed a cab?" The cab had shown up much earlier than she expected, and once it pulled up, Callie hopped into the backseat, gave directions, and soon they were off towards her house.

"You live out here all by yourself?" That was the question the cab driver asked her, as he pulled up to the house, and somewhat politely, kicked her out.

"That'll be $36.54" Callie's eyes almost bulged out of her head at the very high, and very unexpected rate. She had taken the cab before, the same company, the same distance and it had been nearly half the price.

"That's not right. That's too much." She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling like a fight was going to take place. But after what she did at the restaurant, throwing the water, she felt like she could handle a good argument.

"That's what I'm charging, so pay up." Callie's eyes narrowed and she started to stare him down. She would not pay the ridiculous price he was asking for, especially since she hadn't had to pay that much before, and she would willingly argue.

"No. I'm not. That's stupid. I've taken the cab before, to this location, and it cost almost half of what you're saying I owe you." She stood her ground, telling herself not to back down and be pushed around.

She was not one to stand up for herself, being bullied in school and being quite shy, made an awkward combination when it came to trying to argue and stand up for herself. Her face would get red, she would get embarrassed and almost shrink back, as if to disappear. But not tonight, tonight she was going tp stand up for herself.

"That's the rate. Now either you pay up or I'll get out of this cab and make you pay." She felt a headache coming on when she felt the first twitch in her forehead, followed by a second or a third.

'Do not back down Callie. Do not let him win.' She had to reassure herself that she was not weak and that she could fight for herself. But when she saw the door open and the cab driver start to undo his seatbelt, she started to panick.

She reached into her pocket, fished out some money and threw it in the cab. While the driver was counting it, she ran into her house and locked the door. She didn't even know how much she had given him, but she knew that if it wasn't enough, he would be pissed and she would be in real trouble.

"What a bitch." That was the last thing Callie heard before she saw the cab starting to pull away and off of her property. She had never felt more relieved than she was right now, to be at home, and able to relax and breathe.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I feel very 'blah' about this chapter, but I felt bad about not updating yesterday, so I figured I had better do it today.

Disclaimer: I only own Callie and nothing else.

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And sorry if I had missed anyone!


	6. Chapter 6

I know that the bridges that I've burned

Along the way

Have left me with these walls and these scars

That won't go away

And opening up has always been the hardest thing

Until you came

Can't Take My Eyes Off You - Lady Antebellum

Callie walked, or rather stormed into the garage where her car was destroyed, and felt her blood boiling. She felt like everything in the universe was attacking her all at once, all at the same moment.

She had called a cab, and as luck would have it, it was the same driver as yesterday, and he was beyond pissed when he saw her. He waited until she got in and had gotten halfway to her destination, before he slammed on the brakes, threw her out then demanded what she owed today, plus what she still owed from yesterday. She reluctantly paid, knowing that if she did have to get, yet another cab, she didn't want him to still be pissed at her.

When she had got out of the cab and had started to walk, she heard a loud flash of lightning, followed by a loud clap of thunder. She counted down the hour, minutes and seconds until she had felt the first rain drops on her skin.

It was soon, if it wasn't already, downhill as she felt the rain start pouring down on her, making her hair stick to her face, and then her clothes stick to her body. It wasn't that she hated the rain, it was the opposite, she had loved the rain. But not when she had to walk, and not when she was already having the worst damn day she had ever had.

"At least this is the very worst it could get." She had spoken too soon, as she heard a car coming behind her, and she didn't have time to move or get out of the way, as it drove through a large puddle.

She heard the water before she could see it, but she was still too slow to get out of the way. She felt the cold, ice cold, water on her skin, and it soaked her from head to toe. She sputtered and swore she saw red everywhere she looked and, if she had a car, she would track that asshole down and make him pay.

"Watch where you're going, asshole!" She glared at his car getting smaller and smaller, and picked up her pace, trying to get to the garage sooner. She was cold, and she figured that the sooner she get into a warm building, even though she would be in her sopping wet clothes, at least she could stay warm.

"Finally!" She felt a wave of relief when she saw the building, and she quickly jogged towards it, and opened the door, feeling the heat of the inside, meet with the chill of the outside.

Callie stepped in front of the desk and looked back into the shop, and saw different people working on different cars, but still not hers. She needed her car back, she needed it in one piece and she needed it now.

"Excuse me?" She spoke loudly, annoyance clear in her voice, along with what she thought was just a general 'I'm pissed off about everything' tone.

"Hey Callie!" She felt a slap on her back and she lurched forward from the force, almost nailing her head on the computer sitting on the desk.

"What the hell was that for Jared?" She reached out and went to hit him, but he quickly grabbed her hand and met her annoyed expression, with a loud, booming laugh.

"You're too slow Cal." She almost sneered at the nickname, not wanting her already nickname, Callie, to become even shorter than it was.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you fixing something? Where the hell is Seth?" She snapped at Jared, and turned her attention back towards the garage, watching for Seth, but she didn't see him yet.

"Oooh, you want to see Seth, eh?" Callie felt him nudge her in the ribs, and she turned him and glared, clearly not amused or even happy.

"Shut the hell up!" She turned away from Jared and stared back at the garage, when she finally, saw him walking in, carrying the battery she had just put in.

Callie made eye contact with him, and she saw his eyes light up, and he all but threw the battery to the guy next to him, before he took long strides and made his way inside. She waited until he was right in front of her, and then she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why are you soaking wet? Did you walk here? Why didn't you get a cab? Why didn't you change clothes? You're going to get sick. Wait here and I'll grab you an extra set of coveralls'." Callie went to open her mouth to speak, but before she could talk to Seth, well more like threaten, he was gone in a flash and back into the garage, and into a small room at the back.

"Why are you soaking wet? You look like a wet dog?" Callie felt her eye twitching, and she felt herself reaching out, and grabbed the first thing her hand touched. She picked it up and with as much force as she could, she wacked him on the arm with.

She felt satisfied when she heard him yelp, although the yelping kinda freaked her out, but she still felt satisfied. That would teach him to stop picking on her, she didn't this, today of all days.

"Alright. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." She watched Jared walk past her and into the shop, but not before stopping Seth and talking to him. She watched as both of their eyes met hers, and she narrowed them suspiciously.

They were looking over at her, then talking to each other, and she knew that whatever they were talking about, was serious, as both Jared and Seth had no signs of a smile on their faces. It wasn't common for both Seth and Jared, Callie had almost always seen a smile on Jared's and Seth's face. Whether it was Seth's goofy smile or Jared's sarcastic or joking smile, they always almost had at least one smile on their faces. And now that they didnt, it made Callie a bit concerned.

'Are they talking about my car? Did they destroy something that belonged in it?' The thought that they had wrecked it further, made Callie's blood boil. She **needed** her car for so much, and she had already missed having it too much.

"Here you go." She was met by Seth handing her a crumpled, blue pile of fabric and Callie leaned in, to get a closer look. They were coveralls' but she didn't want to wear someone's sweaty, greasy, oil filled coveralls'.

"They're clean. There's a bathroom to your right. When you're done changing, we'll talk about your car." Callie grabbed the clothes from him, and jumped when his skin met hers. She had felt a shock, static electricity, was what she blamed it on, but from the look on Seth's face, she wondered if it could've been something else.

"I'll just go change." Callie turned on her heel and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her, and made sure she locked it. She quickly peeled off her wet clothes that were clinging to her, her sweater, her shirt, her jeans, and pulled up the coveralls'.

She had a bit of trouble pulling them up, they were small, which is what Seth had intended to get her, seeing as she was much shorter than he was. But she was also a woman, and as a woman, especially not being a thin one, she had things they didn't.

"It will have to do." Callie turned and looked at herself in the mirror, making a face as she did so. The coveralls' were much warmer than her wet clothes, but they smelt of oil, grease and gasoline. It was a smell that she wouldn't be growing accustomed to, any time soon.

She bent down and picked up her clothes and walked out of the bathroom, feeling awkward and uncomfortable, as Seth stood there, smiling at her, almost like he was analyzing her. She had never really been one to get checked out, and so by Seth doing so right now, it sent a wave of nerves through her.

She had been overweight as a child, and in her younger years, she had gotten teased incessantly because of it. It was only in her early teen years, that she had started to change, by eating right and exercising, but she was still bigger than other people her age. And now, at the age of 19, she finally felt like she was right where she needed, or wanted to be, not thin and not overweight.

"You look great!" She made a face towards Seth, and stood in front of the counter, holding her wet soggy clothes in her arms, and waited for the information on her car. Seth looked at her, well he watched her, before he reached out and handed her a black garbage bag, which she quickly stuffed her wet clothes into.

"Your car's still not put back together." She heard Seth speak clearly, confidently and it really pissed her off. He clearly didn't know the importance of her having a vehicle and clearly he was trying to stall putting it together because he hated her.

"Seth..." She reached forward and grabbed his coveralls' in her hand and twisted them, bringing his face centimetres away from hers.

She stared into his eyes, her blue meeting his dark brown, and she saw a few emotions cross his eyes. Worry, anger, frustration and sadness were the prominent ones, but she didn't put too much thought into them, instead she put thought into what she was going to say.

"You get my car fixed and you put it back together because I cannot keep taking cabs everywhere. You fix it and put it back together because I need it to go to school and I need it to find a new job. You fix it and you put it back together." She saw his smile fall, for once, and she almost felt bad for yelling at him and taking all of her frustrations out on him.

"I will Callie. Trust me. I am trying my hardest and I will put it back together as quickly as I can." Callie let him go and took a step back, watching him fix his coveralls, before his stupid, goofy grin was back on his face.

"I'll let you know when it's fixed." Callie nodded at Seth, and then proceeded to walk out the door, deciding to keep the coveralls until further notice, and only stopped walking when she heard Seth's voice.

"You have really pretty blue eyes you know that?" Callie felt herself freeze, and she felt an unwanted blush start to creep up her cheeks. That is the very first time a man has said that to her, and she didn't know how to react or what to say.

Should she say something to him? Should she walk back and tell him to leave her alone? She was completely clueless what to do, and she pondered it before she muttered a thank you, and took off out the door.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Disclaimer: I only own Callie.

I thought it was about time for Callie to show signs that what Seth says is starting to affect her. She's still as awkward and clueless about everything to do with male attraction towards her however.

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	7. Chapter 7

The first time that I saw you

Looking like you did,

We were young

We were restless

Just two clueless kids,

But if I knew then

What I know now

I'd fall in love.

If I knew Then - Lady Antebellum

Callie didn't know how she had turned into such a bitch, or when she had become such a bitch, but as she stared at herself in the mirror, she knew that she was one. She had become what she used to hate. The way she treated Seth, it was down right cruel, and he didn't deserve it. She shouldn't have hit Jared, she shouldn't have even lashed out at him.

"I'm such a bitch." She stared at her reflection for not a moment more, before she left her bathroom, left her living room, and eventually left her house and made her way back down the road she had taken yesterday, with the coveralls in a bag, under her arm, and started to think of an apology that probably wouldn't be accepted.

"I'm a bitch." She told herself again, as she walked into the garage, and saw Jared standing at the desk, talking to a very pretty Quilette girl, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Jared..." She made her way to the desk, but didn't interrupt Jared and the girl, and instead, kept thinking of how to apologize.

"Callie this is Kim. My girlfriend." Callie looked at Kim, and smiled, while keep repeating in her head that she was a bitch and she needed to change.

"It's nice to meet you." Callie smiled at Kim, and held up the bag of the coveralls' and watched as Jared reached out and took them, before he gave Kim a quick kiss.

She turned her head to give them privacy and only looked back when she saw Kim walking past her, and out of the garage. Callie turned back to Jared and her eyes met his brown ones, the smile that was on his face was replaced by the sarcastic one.

"I'm a bitch." She put it out there, and didn't wait for any denying it, and he wasn't surprised when Jared nodded, and agreed with her.

"Yeah. You are a bitch." Callie had to admit that it stung to hear him say that, but she need it to hear it. She needed to hear this so she could try and fix her bitchiness.

"I'm sorry that I hit you yesterday. I shouldn't have." Callie frowned and felt stupid. That wasn't a good enough apology and telling from the look on Jared's face, he didn't think so either.

"i'm sorry for being a bitch and overreacting and hitting you because I am a bitch and I need to get better at it." Callie frowned again, still feeling like that wasn't enough, but Jared nodded, and then turned to look at the garage.

"I'm used to dealing with bitches, but you have to really apologize to Seth. He's the one that really needs to be apologized to. He did not deserve to be talked to like that." She saw Jared look at her, then back at the garage.

"You can be a bitch to me, to anyone else, but you cannot be a bitch to Seth." Callie watched Jared walk into the garage, and waited until Seth came out, and stood in front of her, with a half smile on his face.

"First, let me start by saying that I am sorry for freaking out on you and being a brat. It's not your fault that my piece of junk had to get taken apart. I am sorry, and I appreciate everything you're doing to help me out. I am sorry for blaming you and telling you to get it fixed as soon as you could." Callie let out a breath and looked at Seth, with his arms crossed a more normal smile on his face.

"You're a bitch. I know. Jared told me." She nodded, and knew she deserved to be told that. It hurt coming from Seth, but she needed to hear it. It would knock her down and help her not be the thing she hated and hates.

"I know. I'm going to work on it. I know that this isn't an excuse and I'm not going to use it as one, but I am going through some shit." She spoke softly, feeling completely horrible for yesterday, and knowing that she could've stopped herself at any time. But she didn't and that bothered her.

She had treated this, sweet, happy guy, this guy who always had a smile on his face, like the dirt from the lowest, farthest part of the Earth. And before that she had treated Jared, who she considered to be her best friend, like he wasn't much better than scum. It almost made her sick, and when she thought back to yesterday, she felt bile rise up in her throat.

She hated bitches, having to deal with them in school, they were all the same. Rude to anyone they met, kicking them when they were down, treating them like worms that crawled in the dirt. They treated people like they were nothing but an inconvenience, a waste of air, and it had dawned on her that everything she had hated in her life, before she had graduated, she had become.

She compared her bitchiness to a fast, growing monster, starting at first, with a fire in it's belly that couldn't be quenched. It had grown off of the comments she made to other people, to her friends, her family when she had talked to them. It had soon been too much and it consumed her, taking over her thoughts and emotions, until the once sweet girl that she would've grown up to be, was no longer in sight, and soon all that was there, was the devil on her shoulder.

"You shouldn't have yelled at me like that. You shouldn't have treated Jared or I like that." Callie could only nod, and she stood there awkwardly, as Seth stood before her. They were both in an awkward silence, and Callie wish it would end.

"I'm sorry Seth. I tried apologizing to Jared, but I don't think he believed me." Callie looked past Seth, to the garage, where all the vehicles were on lifts, and people worked on the under carriages of them.

She easily picked out Jared, laughing next to someone who was taller, bigger, and bulkier than he was, but the guy had a smile on his face that showed that he meant no harm. He had dark, short hair, almost to his scalp, like Jared and Seth, and he had dark brown eyes, that almost looked black. He looked older than Seth and Jared, and he reminded her of an older brother. Someone who they could look up to.

"He'll get over it sooner or later. He get over things fairly fast." Callie tore her eyes away from Jared, and from looking at him, Sam, she assumed, and looked at Seth.

She really looked at him and found that he was more attractive every day she got to know him more. He had short black hair, almost buzzed and almost to the scalp, and as always, a goofy grin on his face. From looking at him, he looked to be no more than 17, still having that boyish attitude and charm to him, one that most guys seemed to lose with age.

He was taller than her, towering above her, her short 5'4" frame compared to his easily, 6'3" frame. He wasn't as bulky as Jared and Sam, but he still had muscles that made him look rough and tough, despite the charm and smile he almost wore.

"I hope I didn't piss him off too bad." Callie looked back at the garage, and noticed similarities that all of the guys seemed to have.

They were all so much taller than her, she guessed none of them were shorter than 5'11", and all of them had some sort of muscle mass, that made them look like body builders and bouncers all at the same time. They all had copper or russet, colored skin, that obviously came with being Quilette, but there was something about all of them, every single one of them.

They all were incredibly good looking, and she could just see the lines of girls that would be chasing after them, wanting all of their attention, all of the attention those brown eyes could bring, on them.

"Like I said, he'll bounce back eventually." Callie nodded and looked at Seth, getting trapped in her eyes, and she imagined guilt lined her eyes, and matched his, still slightly angry and still hurt, eyes.

To her, he looked like a kicked puppy that was injured, bruised and afraid to move and speak. Despite the smile that was on his face, it was his dark brown eyes that gave away the secret to his actual emotions. It was like his eyes were the mirror to his soul, and every emotion he had flashed over and were sometimes, were held there.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch to you." She watched his eyes and saw some kind of happy flash in his eyes, and she felt a bit better. At least he was happy that she had apologized or at least tried to.

"Can I make it up to you?" She asked, trying to leave the question open, and told herself to be open-minded about anything he would suggest.

She watched and could almost see the wheels in his turning, and she looked at him, into his deep brown eyes, and kept her gaze there. She would not break her gaze, showing him that she was serious about apologizing, and to keep herself accountable.

"Let's hang out. Just hang out and talk." She nodded and took a deep breath, filling her lungs up with oxygen and slowly released, feeling calmer as she took deep breaths in and out.

She licked her dry, cracked lips, and thought of the benefits of being friends and talking with Seth. She could get to know him more, as a friend, and might actually have a chance to be social and start to get out of whatever rut she felt like she was in.

"Sure. We should hang out. Talk." Callie placed a smile on her face, not forced, not sarcastic, not rude, but a genuine smile that she had not shown in a long time.

She still felt odd and awkward around Seth, not sure why he would want to stare at her, and follow him with his eyes. But she didn't get an axe murderer vibe from him, instead she felt like if she had stopped being bitchy and actually let him in, actually let a part of her that she holding tightly to her chest go, that she may actually feel better.

"I'm off in a bit. Not even half an hour. Wanna just wait around?" Callie looked at Seth, and then past him to the garage.

If he was working on her car, and he swore that he was, and she had nothing better to do anyway, then she might as well learn what she could. It's not like it could ever hurt her, she knew next to nothing about cars, her knowledge expanding no further than what make and year her car was. If Seth could teach her anything at all, she would gladly take it.

"Can I help you fix my car?" She looked at Seth, his same, typical goofy smile on his face, before he nodded and walked towards the solid, metal door, turned the handle and walked through.

Callie followed, stepping around the desk and walked towards the door, she turned the handle, pushed the door open and stepped foot into the garage. She was met by a smell of oil, gasoline and other smells, that seemed to be sweat. She hated the smell, and the combination it made and quickly followed after Seth, finding that she had to practically jog to catch up. One of his long strides, made 2 and a half of hers, her short legs had to stretch as much as possibly to make three quarters of one of his.

"Here we are." She walked outside and saw her car, the frames and the rims were back on, and there were less parts strewn around the back. She could see that the paint of her car, that used to be badly chipped in places, was fixed, showing the dark blue colour of her car that was once a beautiful car.

"It looks much better Seth. Thank you." Callie smiled at Seth, another genuine smile, and sat down on the grass and he pulled out tool after tool, until the ground and grass was littered with tools.

She didn't know what any of the tools had done, none at all, but she was willing and wanting to learn. She wanted to know in case, her bad luck returned and she got stranded on the highway, again. She could and would at least, hopefully be able to get it running, should it break down again.

"This is the carburetor. I had to replace that, it was in rough shape and you're lucky it hadn't gone sooner." Callie nodded and listened to what he was saying, trying to make sure she wouldn't forget what he was saying.

"What does the carburetor do?" She asked inquisitively, leaning back on her pale arms, and enjoyed what little sun there was to enjoy, in this always rainy, part of the country.

"The carburetor is responsible for mixing the right amount of gasoline and air to make the engine run properly. If there's not enough fuel mixed with air, the engine runs leans, and it will either not run at all or will damage your engine." Callie felt lost, she felt hopelessly lost and actually quite stupid hearing all of the terms he was using.

She didn't exactly know how Seth could know all of these things, he was still in school, she knew that for sure, and she wasn't sure if he had grown up around cars, and had been taking them apart and putting them back together all his life, or if they were just his passion. Either way, the knowledge he understood and knew, was not hurting anyone or anything.

"Your carburetor, was just barely getting a good mixture of air and gasoline, and so that's why it had stopped the night you met Jared. Thankfully your engine didn't get wrecked because that would've been $1500 for a good engine, and then to install it and to add the labour fees would've been more than this old beast is worth." Callie let out a small laugh, at the thought that all of this work to get her car back and running would cost more than it was worth.

"It's the truth. You're car isn't worth much and it's almost time to get a new one." She shook her head and closed her eyes, feeling clouds move in front of the sun, gave her a brief break from the blinding rays that were hitting her eyes. She loved the sun, the warmth and the way it felt on her skin, but she was not one to have the sun constantly beating down on her. She liked those rainy, cloudy days that almost you forget the sun was even real.

"I can't afford to get another one. I don't know if I would want to anyway. I've grown attached to my hunk of metal." She felt a surge of pride when she made Seth laugh, and she sat up just to see the goofy grin on his face again. She didn't like seeing him without a smile, his smile made him who he was.

'I'm a bitch. But I'm going to change.' Callie swore she would, she swore she try and reverse the path she was on to become the monster, the devil on her shoulder, and to start changing the path she was on, meant opening up to Seth and Jared, and not shutting down.

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2 chapters in one day, and this one is much longer than the earlier one. :) I am always up for improving my writing, so if you have any tips for me, please feel free to share them. I like knowing how to improve my writing, and it's nice to get tips from people who have written more than I have. :) Any tips or suggestions will be welcomed.


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